British beer v foreign beer.

[Riggers]

Thanks for that Vallers. Looked them up. What a range of beer. Be nice if they had some down in Brighton, but sadly, no.

[Bledlow]

I joined Camra recently and was delighted to get a huge stack of 50p off vouchers - for wetherspoons though which was less great.
 I joined because a local pub has opened after going bust, as a specialist real ale bar - loads of kegs with taps etc racked up and a gazillion odd bottled beers and ciders. I thought this is a venture that needs support, plus they do black pudding in batter as a barsnack which gets my vote.
After 4 months I and my beer chum have decided that about 1 in 5 beers we try in there is actually pleasant to drink, enough that you would want to have a second. They have lovely sounding names etc but they taste like something left in the garden for a week. I don't think I am a real ale man - London Pride is quite nice, and Timothy Taylors Landlord is pretty much perfection in a glass I reckon. These are of course looked down upon.

If you don't like 'em, don't drink 'em. Ask the barperson what they're like, & if they sound as if you might like 'em, ask for a taste.

As for snobs who look down on Pride & Landlord - well, they're parodied very nicely in some of the Camra guides. Only thing wrong with Landlord, IMO, is that it's often served in poor condition down here, & I love a good pint of Pride.

BTW, my idea of heaven in a glass was the first pint of Brakspears ordinary I had in the old brewery hospitality suite, one Friday evening in the 1990s. I've never tasted better. Definitely a beer meant to be drunk fresh.

Among the other pints (or near pints) remembered with particular fondness was a half-litre of Pilsner Urquell drunk in a crowded, steamy (wet outside), horribly ugly concrete boozer* behind the brewery museum in the middle of Plzen. Delicious! The next Plzen pub I tried looked far more appealing, but the beer was in far worse condition. And then there was my first taste of Ise Kadoya Sinto beer, in the Izakaya Toramaru, in the street where Mrs B's grandparents then lived. According to the brewery website it's a local (very local - the brewery's in the same town, maybe 2 km away) variation on an American pale ale. Dunno about that, but reading the label after tasting it I found it was champion beer of Japan at the Great Japan Beer Festival the previous year, & IMO a good choice. Next time I'm over there, I will drink it again.

The pint of White Horse bitter I had at the Black Horse on Sunday was pleasant. A decent ordinary bitter.

*Given a cosmetic makeover since 1994.

[Riggers]

Thank you for that Bledders. Just how much a beer's taste is enhanced by the situation in which it's drunk; time of day, pub, friends, time of year, would be difficult to quantify, but it plays its part.




Ahhhhhhhhhh…   beer.

[CAMRAMan]

I echo the two posts above. Even a Wetherspoons will allow you to sample their wares, at least the two I know do, anyway. Any pub selling itself as a real ale bar should offer samples too. They should also offer brief tasting notes so you know in advance what sort of beer to expect, and to decide against some if they're not to your taste. You'll quickly discover which types of beer suit your palate. I like dark, sweet porters in the winter and malty, lighter beers in the summer, for example.

Riggers has it spot on. One of my favourite beers is Batham's Bitter from the Black Country. It took a good while, and no little trouble to reach their pubs from where I lived, but that only built up the suspense. On reaching the Bull and Bladder/The Vine, it was always busy and so we had to wait for our pints, but it was worth it, it really is nectar. A good pint of Timothy Taylor's is also excellent beer and it usually reaches us here in good nick.

My local sells lots of real ales and is a jovial place to be. Mordue's Coffee Porter was one I tried there that really hit the spot, although many of their ales are hopped to buggery, which is not to my taste. The place is doing well, so they are clearly doing summat right even though I personally don't like everything they sell.

The thing with beer is that even if you don't like the taste of a particular pint, you've still had the alcohol delivered to your system, so move on to the next one... Hic!

[Riggers]

With reference to this:


Guess what I've been buying at lunchtime? These:



And they're in the book! Hurrah!
Thornbridge Jaipur 5.9%
Thornbridge Kipling 5.2%
Piraat 10.5% (Belgium) Gonna be lively
Nils Oscar (Sweden) Rökporter 5.9%
Nils Oscar Imperial Stout 7%
Corsendonk Agnus Triple (Belgium) 7.5%

happy happy joy joy.

[citoyen]

Looks like a very nice selection!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Thornbridge Kipling - it's the Centennial hops, I think. Too much passionfruit. The Jaipur, however, is lovely.

Maybe save the Piraat until last if you want to be able to appreciate the others to their fullest, hmm?

d.

[giropaul]

I greatly prefer the Belgian beers in general. In my view they are brewed for a market where sipping an excellent product is the norm, whereas in the UK most drinkers look for something that they can down several pints of at a sitting.

At present I have at my disposal - Piraat (as mentioned), Trappistes de Rochefort (11.3%), St Bernardus Abt 12 (10%), Delirium Nocturnum (8.5%), Gulden Draak (10.5%), and some Chimay Blue in case any others run out.

I'm also very fond of the John Martin's beers (mainly, I think, brewed in Scotland, but to the Belgian taste and strength) - Gordon's Special Gold and Gordon's Christmas. John Martin, by the way, commissions the Belgian Guiness mentioned earlier in the trhread, and it comes in at 8%ish (and in my view, is superior to any other Guiness).

The "holy grail" is, of course, Westvleteren, but as it's only available by persoanl atendance at St Sixtus Abbey near Poperinge, and by appointment - and then only a couple of cases can be bought, it's about as obtainable as hens' teeth.

But - juts to show that I'm not against UK brews totally, I do like Ma Pardoes Ruby Mild, and I'll tolerate a good Reverent James if it's kept well.

[Andrew Br]

A pub near me has Caledonian on but they aren't looking after it (and their others- Pedigree, Copper Dragon) properly anymore and it tastes awful

The Sedge Lynn?

No, The Beech.
I usually walk or cycle past the Sedge Lynn on the way to The Marble 

To bring this up to date for the Chorlton(CH)ites, the Beech has changed hands and the new people really look after their beer.
I should try some of the others but I can't get past their TT Landlord it's so good.

The Sedge Lynn has good beer on from time to time but I find the smell inside really nauseating.
I don't know whether it's the pub or the clients.

Also, FWIW, Bar has become my "local" because the bike parking is better and it's easier to get a seat.
Marble put some very nice planters in the outside area but, unfortunately, they obscure the bikes.
Bar has a long railing outside and big windows so it's possible to drink a beer and see the bikes.
Having said that, space was at a premium last night there were so many locked up 

[CAMRAMan]

I'm also very fond of the John Martin's beers (mainly, I think, brewed in Scotland, but to the Belgian taste and strength) - Gordon's Special Gold and Gordon's Christmas. John Martin, by the way, commissions the Belgian Guiness mentioned earlier in the trhread, and it comes in at 8%ish (and in my view, is superior to any other Guiness).

The "holy grail" is, of course, Westvleteren, but as it's only available by persoanl atendance at St Sixtus Abbey near Poperinge, and by appointment - and then only a couple of cases can be bought, it's about as obtainable as hens' teeth.

But - juts to show that I'm not against UK brews totally, I do like Ma Pardoes Ruby Mild, and I'll tolerate a good Reverent James if it's kept well.

Bugger! I was in Poperinge a month ago and missed a chance. I found the Belgian Guinness didn't stand up well to the "normal" stuff, but it's better than the Nigerian stuff my local Tescos tried flogging.

My local LIDL has Reverend James on offer at £1.29 (and SA Gold)

I keep trying to make the shortish trip to the Black Country to get to Ma Pardoes and to The Beacon for some Sarah Hughes. It'll have to be Christmastime now.

[Mrs Pingu]

I've bought small quantities of Westvleteren in a shop in Brussels before now, and while it was perfectly nice it wasn't IMO quite up to all the hype. But then nothing ever is!

[giropaul]

I'm also very fond of the John Martin's beers (mainly, I think, brewed in Scotland, but to the Belgian taste and strength) - Gordon's Special Gold and Gordon's Christmas. John Martin, by the way, commissions the Belgian Guiness mentioned earlier in the trhread, and it comes in at 8%ish (and in my view, is superior to any other Guiness).

The "holy grail" is, of course, Westvleteren, but as it's only available by persoanl atendance at St Sixtus Abbey near Poperinge, and by appointment - and then only a couple of cases can be bought, it's about as obtainable as hens' teeth.

But - juts to show that I'm not against UK brews totally, I do like Ma Pardoes Ruby Mild, and I'll tolerate a good Reverent James if it's kept well.

Bugger! I was in Poperinge a month ago and missed a chance. I found the Belgian Guinness didn't stand up well to the "normal" stuff, but it's better than the Nigerian stuff my local Tescos tried flogging.

My local LIDL has Reverend James on offer at £1.29 (and SA Gold)

I keep trying to make the shortish trip to the Black Country to get to Ma Pardoes and to The Beacon for some Sarah Hughes. It'll have to be Christmastime now.

I'm guessing that, as you've said you go for the hoppy beers, whilst in Poperinge you sampled the Hommelbier (Hommel = hops). Poperinge is the hop growing area for Belgium.

Actually, it may be the Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild that I like - I had rather a lot of it one Christmas and missed Christmas dinner!

[CAMRAMan]

Oh yes! Only a small glass though. I like hops, but not to an overwhelming extent. Marstons Old Empire is one of the better IPAs, for example.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I don't like beer, except those Belgian raspberry and peach ones made by fruity monks, but I don't like the cherry one. I wish I did like beer.

[citoyen]

I've bought small quantities of Westvleteren in a shop in Brussels before now, and while it was perfectly nice it wasn't IMO quite up to all the hype. But then nothing ever is!

I know what you mean, though I would say Rodenbach Grand Cru does live up to the hype.

d.

[Mrs Pingu]

I've bought small quantities of Westvleteren in a shop in Brussels before now, and while it was perfectly nice it wasn't IMO quite up to all the hype. But then nothing ever is!

I know what you mean, though I would say Rodenbach Grand Cru does live up to the hype.

d.

Nah, that one's not for me, though Pingu has rather a lot of it in the shed.

[woollypigs]

As you may know we've just been to Seattle/Hood River/Portland where there are lots and lots of microbreweries making a wide range of different styles of beer.

Having a bit of an R&R in Portland on our cycle tour it would be rude not to do a bit of sampling. Portland has the most breweries within the city limits than any other city in the USA if not the world, I think the number is standing at 54 right now.

At first it was a bit weird to drink an ale that was so cold and gassy as they tend to be here, but now I rather like to have an ale from the fridge. They also tend to be very hoppy even a British ale full of hobs is mild in comparison.

Two days ago I tried out a white IPA from Deschutes brewery called Chainbreaker at 5.6%, this surprised me. Never tired a white IPA before and I really enjoyed it.

They also tend to be rather strong too, we visited the Black Raven brewery near Seattle and all I can say is have a dedicated driver if visiting.

[Pingu]

...Rodenbach Grand Cru...

Nom, nom, nom 

[Riggers]

Looks like a very nice selection!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Thornbridge Kipling - it's the Centennial hops, I think. Too much passionfruit. The Jaipur, however, is lovely.

Maybe save the Piraat until last if you want to be able to appreciate the others to their fullest, hmm?

d.

I know what you mean, having tasted the stuff on Saturday. I certainly couldn't find the depth of flavours suggested in the 'tasting notes' in m'book. They never mentioned 'piss' – which was an omission in my opinion.

[tiermat]

I seem to collecting a wide variety of beers, both domestic and forrin.

Currently I have:
Estrella Damm - My favourite forrin lager (Sainsburys used to sell it but stopped, now Tesco sell it, so all is not lost )
Leffe Blonde
Old Tom
Copper Dragon Golden Pippin
Just need some Walls County Brewery beers (Gun Dog, County Best and Mild & Easy to name but three) and I'll be happy for an evening of beer testing...

[citoyen]

Looks like a very nice selection!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Thornbridge Kipling - it's the Centennial hops, I think. Too much passionfruit. The Jaipur, however, is lovely.

Maybe save the Piraat until last if you want to be able to appreciate the others to their fullest, hmm?

d.

I know what you mean, having tasted the stuff on Saturday. I certainly couldn't find the depth of flavours suggested in the 'tasting notes' in m'book. They never mentioned 'piss' – which was an omission in my opinion.

 

[Riggers]

Not consumed ALL in one evening, but a taster of wozbeendrunk recently. It's a big huge thumbs-up! for the Hazelnut Coffee Porter from Saltaire. Delicious. 4.7% alc.

[mrcharly-YHT]

If you liked that one, Riggers, keep an eye out for some 'Bad Kitty'.

Every year we serve it at Galtres Festival it sells out early. Lovely stuff. Some people refuse to believe it doesn't have coffee essence added.

[CAMRAMan]

Mordues' Newcastle Coffee Porter is also a rare treat. My local had it once and, despite begging them, have not had it back since

[T42]

When I was consulting for a German firm in the 80s I took a trip to SF with a colleague. First time we were in a Californian mall we spotted a Löwenbräu sign and made a beeline for it.  God, it was piss - brewed in the US for US palates, and nothing like the original.  The same applied for every "German" beer we tried over there.  We eventually settled on Samuel Adams, and Anchor Steam when we could get it.

[CAMRAMan]

Tossco are selling a craft lager. Very nice it is too. Brewed by Banks's. A very malty brew, which is good. It contrasts very nicely with their Czech Vratislav lager which is heavily hopped.